Beyond The Lost

10

A warm hand, different from the rest, grabbed my ankle and pulled downward as hard as it could, nearly snapping my shin. I landed on my ass, wearing next to nothing. The only clothes covering me were smeared with black tar and scorch marks. Black fingerprints had been left behind, burning into my skin as I quickly tried to wipe them off.

"Are you okay?" Victor dropped to his knees beside me, coughing up his lungs. "Did you get burned?"

I examined my skin and shook my head. "No. I'm okay. We need to find a way to use the amulet."

"No kidding. But I don't know how."

"Someone has to."

"Can we just take a breath for a moment?" He laid down in the grass, twirling a small piece of my dress in his hand. "You almost died, just...calm down."

I sat down in the grass with him, an empty field surrounding us. "Victor, I can't stand another minute here."

"Let's talk about something else."

His eyes follow my hands as I continue to try and wipe the black marks from my arms and legs. He's eyeing me up and down, deciding carefully what he'll say next. I can feel his hand inching closer to mine, but I ignore it as best I can. "I can't talk about anything else! I want to go home and it's your fault I'm here."

"I'm truly sorry about that. I had no idea it could take the living."

"Where were you?"

"Hm?" He sat up a bit.

"When I was in that forest, I couldn't find you. Where did you go?"

"It's hard to know. Everything changes on a whim." He sighed, leaning against his knees. "We're lucky if this field will hold itself together."

"Where were you? What did it look like?"

"It didn't look like anything. I was standing nowhere but I heard your scream and followed you. I could hear you calling to me." I stayed quiet for a moment. I wasn't exactly sure why I called for him.

"I saw something." I stared at the sky, flinching when I felt his hand wrap around my index finger. I didn't make any move to pull it away. "I think I saw the devil."

"The devil would not be limited to such a small space. He's out there, waiting for us to come home."

"This big red thing was chasing me. It sounded just like you."

He faced me, but I didn't do the same. "And no one helped you?" I could smell his shoulder from this close. I could feel the warmth radiating from his hands and his breath, but I was afraid to look at him. I was afraid I'd see someone else. "Why isn't your mother helping us? She's here...so why isn't she helping us get home?"

"I don't think she even cares. We're gonna die in here."

"Don't say that."

"We're moving downward, can't you see that? We're going deeper. We need to go up, back to the surface."

"There's no way to tell which way we're going. We could be falling sideways for all we know."

"No, I can feel it." He squeezed my hand as I spoke. "We're sinking."

"We'll be okay."

I faced him, my brain in tatters. "Do you always lie to yourself like this?"

"Yeah, I do." He shrugged. "It's called hope."

"There's no such thing."

"You have to look for it." He stares at my face, but I can't exactly figure out what he's looking for. Hope, maybe. "Come on, get up." He pulled me to my feet, eyeing the tall grass that went on for miles.